President Mahmoud Abbas address to the 72nd UN General Assembly, 20 Sep 2017 — the 'draining the swamp of colonial occupation' speech (English translation of Arabic original)

Mr. President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Twenty-four years have passed since the signing of the Oslo Accords, an interim agreement that set a five-year period for bringing an end to the Israeli occupation, granting hope to the Palestinian people that they would soon achieve independence within their State and achieve peace between Palestinians and Israelis. What is left of this hope today?

We recognized the state of Israel on the 1967 borders. But Israel's continuous refusal to recognize these borders has put into question the mutual recognition we signed in Oslo in 1993.

Since my speech before your august Assembly last year, when I appealed for 2017 to be the year for ending the Israeli occupation of the territory of the State of Palestine, the Israeli Government has relentlessly pursued its settlement campaign on our land, in contravention of all international conventions and the relevant resolutions on the question of Palestine. It has persisted with its flagrant disregard for the two-State solution, resorting to delay policies and tactics and devising pretexts to evade its responsibility to end its occupation of the territory of the State of Palestine.

Instead of addressing the underlying issues and resolving the root causes of the conflict, it has tried to misdirect international attention to the secondary issues actually caused by its colonial policies.

It is thus very strange to hear some of those who hold the responsibility to end this occupation referring to it as an 'alleged occupation'. Such perceptions are totally disconnected from reality.

Israel bares first and foremost the shame for continuation of this occupation, but so does the international community.

Beyond any doubt, draining the swamp of colonial occupation of our land and ending its unjust, oppressive and illegal practices against our people would greatly affect the fight against terrorism, depriving terrorist groups of one of the key rallying cries they exploit to promote their repugnant ideas. We must thus reiterate that ending the Israeli occupation of our land is of urgency and an integral part of the efforts that must be undertaken to confront such groups.

We have explored every avenue and exerted far-reaching efforts to achieve peace with our Israeli neighbors, and together, with the Arab and Islamic States, have adopted an invaluable initiative — the Arab Peace Initiative — aimed at resolving the Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflict.

[… listing peace initiatives — Arab Peace Initiative, Quartet Roadmap, French Initiative, Putin/Xi initiatives, Trump effort — elided…]

On our part, we have also repeatedly tried to revive the peace process and called on the Israeli Prime Minister to affirm his commitment to the two-State solution and sit with us at the negotiations table to delineate the borders between Israel and the State of Palestine in order to open a path for meaningful negotiations to resolve all other final status issues. Unfortunately, he rejected this offer.

We have warned in the past and continue to warn of Israeli policies aimed at entrenching the occupation and colonial facts on the ground in East Jerusalem. These policies stir religious animosity and may lead to a violent religious conflict.

Despite this ongoing occupation and its oppressive policies and practices, we have been able to build the institutions of our State, which has been recognized by a majority of Member States of this organization.

The two-State solution is today in jeopardy. We cannot as Palestinians stand still in the face of this threat targeting our national, political and social existence on our land, and endangering regional and international peace and security.

In such a situation, it is our right to search for alternatives that preserve our rights and protect our land and our people from an entrenching system of Apartheid. We have called on the International Criminal Court to open an investigation and to prosecute Israeli officials for their involvement in settlement activities and aggressions against our people, and we will continue to pursue our accessions to international conventions, protocols and organizations.

The path we have chosen as Palestinians and Arabs, and the path chosen by the world is that of international law and international legitimacy. Our choice is the two-State solution on the 1967 borders, and we will grant every chance for the efforts being undertaken by President Donald Trump and the Quartet and international community as a whole to achieve an historic agreement that brings the two-State solution to reality.

But if the two-State solution were to be destroyed due to the creation of a one-State reality with two systems — Apartheid — from the unchecked imposition of this occupation that is rejected by our people and the world, this would be a failure, and neither you, nor we, will have any other choice but to continue the struggle and demand full, equal rights for all inhabitants of historic Palestine. This is not a threat, but a warning of the realities before us as a result of ongoing Israeli policies that are gravely undermining the two-State solution.

From here, I address the Israeli people, across the spectrum of their society, and tell them: We want to live in peace. Do not listen to those who try to convince you that peace between us is not possible. Our problem is with the Israeli colonial occupation and not with Judaism as a religion. Judaism for us Palestinians — Christians and Muslims — will never be considered a threat. It is a monotheistic religion like Islam and Christianity. The Creator says in the Quran: 'In the name of God the merciful "we do not distinguish between his prophets".' Almighty God spoke the truth.

We have also repeatedly affirmed that Gaza will not be the Palestinian State, and that there can be no Palestinian State without Gaza.

Also in my speech before this Assembly last year, I appealed to the British Government to rectify the grave injustice it inflicted upon the Palestinian people when it issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917. Until this moment, the British Government has not taken any step to correct this historical injustice and has neither apologized to the Palestinian people nor compensated them, nor has it recognized the State of Palestine.

To save the peace process and the two-State solution, I urge this organization and your honorable States to do the following:

First: Actively pursue efforts to bring an end to the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine within a set timeframe.

Second: Act to bring a halt to all settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

Third: Ensure international protection to the land and people of the State of Palestine.

Fourth: Demand that Israel endorse and commit to the borders of 1967 as basis for the two-State solution.

Fifth: I urge all Member States of the United Nations that have recognized Israel to proclaim that their recognition is based on the 1967 borders.

Sixth: I call on all States to end all forms of direct and indirect involvement with, and support to, the illegal Israeli colonial settlement regime in the land of the occupied State of Palestine.

Seventh: I urge those States that have not recognized the State of Palestine yet to do so.

Eighth: We look to the Security Council to approve our application for full membership of the State of Palestine to the United Nations.

[… closing salutations elided…]

I tell them all that freedom is coming and is inevitable, and that occupation shall come to an end. It will either be the independence of the State of Palestine, living side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel on the 1967 borders, or equal rights for all of the inhabitants of the land of historic Palestine from the river to the sea.

I thank you. Peace be upon you.